


Slipstream (change my memory remix)

by loki (lokigurl)



Category: Roswell (TV)
Genre: AU, F/M, Gen, Remixed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-14
Updated: 2011-05-14
Packaged: 2017-10-19 09:34:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/199428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lokigurl/pseuds/loki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>everyone has a secret, especially maria<br/>(written for the remix redux challenge)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Slipstream (change my memory remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alianora](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alianora/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Who](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/3296) by alianora. 



> "I mean, its impossible, right, that she is not who she says she is?"  
> "Well, no one is who they say they are."  
> -Liz, Maria "The Morning After"

Everyone has a secret.

Maria's secret is her velvet pants. Plush red velvet that attracts hands, encouraging them to roam over her body. She loves the way she feels in these pants, loves the way people feel her in these pants. She wears these pants when she wants attention, she wears them because she knows they always, always get her what she wants.

It's too damn hot for velvet pants in Roswell, New Mexico.

She folds them up and places them in the bottom drawer. It's the last of her clothes, the last of what little she brought to this place she didn't even want to come to. To meet a mother she barely knows, a woman who lives her life pawning off cheap touristy things to cheap tourists. But Maria's learned that she just has to suck it up sometimes, even if that means moving in with someone who's sent her a cartoon alien birthday card for the past twelve years. Maria stares at her nails, flicking them against one another. She knows Amy would love for her to come out and have a nice chat over a slice of pie. Amy's made three pies since she got there - didn't know what kind Maria liked - and keeps stopping outside the door, asking if everything's alright. If there's anything Maria needs. Maria replies that she's fine each time. The oven door closes and the smell of pumpkin custard sneaks through the door crack. She keeps flicking her nails.

About an hour later, Maria tells Amy that she's going to take a nap. Then she crawls out the window. Better to check out everyone before she's put on display in school tomorrow. It's a small school. She won't be able to disappear as well as she'd like but there are ways to deal with that. There are always ways.

Maria makes it to the main strip and takes in each shop as she passes. The alien antique store, the alien card store, the alien bath soap store. There's even an alien stationery store where she can get personalized notes to write to people back home. Home. She enters very few, instead choosing to stand at the windows and stare in. This way she doesn't have to make conversation, doesn't have to answer any questions.

It's hot and she's thirsty and a little bit tired so she stops at the local diner. It too falls into the alien theme cliché but it's air-conditioned and there's an empty booth by the wall. A girl walks over, all apple pie and sunshine, her dark ponytail bobbing behind her. She takes Maria's order - iced tea - and when she asks if she wants anything else, Maria shakes her head. The waitress steps away and Maria calls her back almost immediately.

"Pie," she says. "I'd like a slice of pie. Any kind you got."

*~*

Morning comes fast and Maria sits on the edge of her bed rubbing her eyes for what seems like an hour. She stumbles to the shower and back out again, pulling on her clothes with little thought. As the new girl, she's already going to stick out so far there's no sense in putting in any effort, in letting people think she's trying to impress them.

When she arrived two days ago - everything she owned packed tight into two duffle bags and a small box jammed into the backseat of her car - Amy rattled on and on about what an exciting experience this was going to be for Maria. How she could reinvent herself and be whoever she wanted to be. It was all Maria could do not to spit out that Amy hardly knew the person she was, thus shouldn't be worrying too much about the Maria to come. Besides, she has no idea how many times Maria had been reinvented. Even Maria herself has lost track.

Maria grabs her keys and heads out to her car. It's still so hot, even at seven in the morning. She doesn't remember it being this harsh the last time she was here to visit. Then again, she was four and she doesn't remember much before she turned seven. Her father had some pictures stuffed in a box at the back of a closet - Maria used to take the photos out and make up backstories for each of them. But they were just stories. Besides, they made sure she remembered the important things. At least, that's what her father always said.

The school is abustle with cliques upon cliques. Maria pulls on her sunglasses and slides on some lip gloss - pink - and heads into the main office. She runs into the girl from the diner on her way to her first class.

"Hey. Hi!" The girl smiles. "Are you, like, going here now?"

"Seems like it," Maria shrugs. "Do you know where Mr. Fisher's class is?"

"Oh sure. I'm going that way too." She takes the class schedule and beckons Maria to follow her. On the walk, she points out classrooms, which apparently housed other teachers Maria will be meeting later in the day. "It looks like we've got the same gym. And lunch. If you know, you'd like to catch up."

Maria nods non-committally. "Sure."

"Great! I'll see you then. I'm Liz, by the way. Liz Parker."

Maria smiles. "Nice to meet you, Liz Parker."

*~*

Her morning classes are harmless enough. Luckily only one teacher - Ms. Saloveri - made her get up and do one of those awkward introductory speeches. However, she made her do it in French and Maria hadn't had enough time to gauge how well the class spoke already. So she dumbed down her own fluency, throwing in only a single complex sentence.

The new kid rumblings haven't quite taken off as Maria expected, but by the time lunch comes, she's acutely aware of nods in her direction accompanied by hushed comments. A few are pathetically inept enough to point. She grabs a plate of whatever they're serving in the cafeteria and looks around for Liz. She finds her outside in the quad, sitting under a tree with a boy. He is tall, lanky, and trying to balance something on the bridge of his nose. Maria walks towards them slowly, making sure that Liz sees her. Liz waves her over.

"Hey," Liz says. "You made it." She points at the boy. "This is Alex. Alex, this is... actually," she giggles, "I don't know your name."

"Maria."

"Hi Maria," Alex drops the pen from its perch. "You don't happen to play drums by any chance, do you?"

Maria sits down. "Drums? I'm sorry, can't say I do."

"No worries, just figured I'd ask. My drummer just broke his arm so it looks like we're out of luck for the next month or so."

"Oh, does that mean you can't play Marty's party Friday?" Liz asks.

"Looks like it," Alex grumbles. "Unless we can reanimate Keith Moon in the next two days."

"Or call up Neal Peart?" Maria offers.

Alex smiles. "You're a rare one around these parts. Most of the time the best I can hope for is a Ringo Starr reference." He leans back on his elbows. "So, you're coming, right? To the party?"

"Well, this is the first I'm hearing of it. I hadn't gotten an official invitation."

"Consider this official then," Liz says. "Quickest way to meet everyone..."

"...And learn who you don't want to meet again," Alex finishes. His attention drifts to the opposite side of the quad. Maria casually glances over, but no one's there. "I gotta run, but same time tomorrow, lovely ladies?" He jumps up and scuffles off before the girls have a chance to answer.

"Did I do something to offend?" Maria asks, watching him go.

"Nah," Liz sips her Coke. "Alex gets like that sometimes - good money says that Isabel just turned that corner."

"Isabel?"

"You'll know her when you see her. It's hard to miss Isabel Evans."

*~*

The light is blinking on the answering machine when she gets home. Amy wants Maria to stop by the store around five so that they can go to dinner. Maria sighs and decides to come up with a halfway decent excuse sometime around four. Ten minutes later she remembers that it's better to play nice, that crap about honey catching more flies than vinegar, so she shows up after all. A little late though, can't seem too eager, especially since Amy makes a big production of announcing her arrival and introducing her to everyone in the store. _Her daughter_ , Maria, from _New York City_. She does not mention Maria's father - she never does. Maria does the pained smile thing and fidgets with a musical Ferris wheel, one with hand-carved aliens grinning gleefully out from each basket.

They drive to a quaint little Mexican restaurant. The food is quite good - in particular Amy's chile rellenos, which she insists on sharing with Maria. Maria accepts, mostly to satisfy her tastebuds, but it's a good move in the mother-daughter path she's maneuvering. Amy tells her about her day, about the two crazy honeymooning tourists that nearly bought out the store. They fell in love with the orange and green dayglo sculpture that Amy had been trying to unload for months.

"Some people are just fanatical about aliens! Sometimes I wonder..." Amy lowers her voice. "I mean, they're great for business, but there are the obsessive believers out there. The ones who are so convinced that aliens live among us that they're grasping onto any shred of evidence of alien existence. Those are the ones I wonder about... and worry about."

"I wouldn't worry so much," Maria digs into her enchilada. "They're adults, right? Old enough to make their own decisions. Besides, they'll come to their senses eventually."

"Come to their senses?"

"Yeah. Realize that they've been fooling themselves. That they're chasing a figment of their imagination."

Amy frowns, cocks her head at her daughter. "So you don't think that aliens visited Roswell?"

"No." Maria sees that Amy's not happy with her answer and that for every step they've made down the happy family path, they've now jumped back at least half. "I guess I just need proof. Hardcore, tangible, irrefutable proof."

Amy smiles weakly and pulls apart her tortilla, dipping it into the cheese. "I suppose we'll have to see what you think after being in Roswell for a while. It seems to have quite the effect on non-believers."

"We'll see," Maria answers, trying to sound light and airy. Maybe one day she'll believe and not look at Amy's work as inane and asinine. "So, what's for dessert?"

*~*

There are kids spilling out the door and across the lawn. An old hip hop song wafts from the backyard - one of those generally played for nostalgia, but actually released before anyone at the party was born. In fact, the whole thing feels like a scene out of some eighties movie.

She walks into the party with Liz, who is already sucking down a beer she snuck from her house. People call out to Liz as she passes by, and Liz always returns  the greeting with a smile and nod. Sunshine and apple pie indeed. They find Alex in the kitchen, ruminating on the perfect note with some equally geeky band guys. Not marching band guys but actual band guys. Maria can tell because they are kind of hot in a disaffected yet still extremely nerdy way.

Liz goes to get them both beers while Maria scans the room. A gorgeous blonde slides by, followed by two girls equally decked out in overpriced designer clothes in hope that they might be able to steal some of the attention back from the blonde. They fail.

"Well, don't you just think you're hot shit."

Maria blinks, surprised that one of the girls has stopped in front of her.

"Hot shit?"

"Yeah," the brunette says. "New girl in school and already at the big party?"

"Oh," Maria snorts, her stare icy and harsh. "I was confused by the 'hot shit' reference. Didn't you get the memo, dear? That went out at least five years ago."

The girl sneers, but the blonde laughs. A bitter, snide little laugh and not one at Maria's expense. She tosses Maria a smirk then looks around. "I'm bored. Let's go."

They leave as quickly as they arrived and it's only when Maria notices Alex staring slack-jawed after them that she figures out who the blonde is. And why no one ever misses Isabel Evans.

*~*

About an hour later, with nothing more exciting than her run in with Isabel happening, Maria slides down into a couch pillow. She lost Liz to a bathroom run a while ago. Her head is about to hit the armrest when a boy plops himself down next to her.

"So, you're friends with Liz Parker?"

"Friends?" Maria struggles to sit up. "I wouldn't necessarily say we're friends. Perhaps on the way to being friends."

"I'm Kyle, her boyfriend." He offers his hand. "Well, ex-boyfriend, really. But you know, only a matter of time."

Maria isn't quite sure what the matter of time will result in, but she sizes the boy up. He's certainly attractive, and unlike the geeky band guys, he's definitely built like a football player. But more of a running back, quarterback, not one of those bulky linebacker types. She's surprised that Liz dated someone like him. Maria figured Liz would be all about the Alex type or at the very least, a sensitive boy.

"So, what do you think of Roswell so far? Where are you fr~"

"Listen, Kyle," Maria cuts him off. "I'm not having much fun here, so why don't you go get us a couple of beers and we'll find a quiet place to chat?"

He nods, eyes already glazed over in a slight drunken stupor. "Suuure... any friend of Liz Parker's is a friend of mine..."

*~*

Three beers later, Maria is making out with Liz Parker's ex-boyfriend in an upstairs bathroom.

It's not her fault, really. They were both drunk and bored and bored and drunk, and when he leaned into her - hell, it was certainly something far more interesting than anything else that's happened since she arrived. And it's not like Kyle is a bad kisser. Maria would put him in the upper 80th percentile of all the boys she's kissed.

He tosses her up on the counter and starts kissing her neck, sliding her tanktop straps down her shoulders. Maria throws her head back and moans, but momentarily comes to her senses as his lips reach her breast.

"Hey, hey. Wait a minute. Stop."

Kyle pulls away, lust heavy in his eyes. "Did I do something... do you want to stop?"

"Just for a second." Maria takes a breath. "This is certainly fun and all, but being the new girl and all, I'd really rather not be branded the school slut in my first week. And you know, Liz..."

"Liz and me are over," Kyle slurs.

"Yeah, you're over _now_."

"No, no." He shakes his head, sobering up. "It's been about a month. She said it was a summer fling - nothing more than that." He shrugs. "And I get you on the rep thing. Hell, this is the furthest I've gone with any chick and I certainly don't want that getting out."

Maria smiles, runs her foot up between his thighs. "This may be the furthest you've ever gone - but there will be no homeruns tonight. Or touchdowns, whatever."

"How about a field goal?" Kyle smirks.

"Heh. Maybe." Maria trembles as Kyle's tongue grazes her nipple. "And maybe if you play your cards right, you just might get the two point conversion one of these days..."

*~*

The next day, Maria drags herself out of bed sometime around one. She's been in Roswell for about a week now, and nothing's changed. There's still the exact same amount of dust lingering on the edge of the curtain rod. A few courageous specks make a jump for it, spinning on their way down as the sun rays highlight their suicide mission. Maria doesn't wait for them to reach the bottom.

She needs coffee. And maybe a piece of pie.

The Crashdown Café is teaming with people trying to avoid the heat by scarfing down fried foods in an overly-air conditioned space. Maria nabs an empty seat at the counter and flips through a greasy menu. A child shrieks behind her and  she rubs the back of her neck and decides that the sixth beer was a bad idea after all.

"Hey girl - what time did _you_ get up this morning?" Liz smirks at her from the other side of the counter. She pours a tall glass of ice water and slides it over.

"I don't even think it was morning anymore..." Maria grumbles just before she sucks down the water. "How the hell are you even smiling and perky, much less alert right now?"

Liz laughs. "Years of practice. And a whole lot of caffeine. Want some?"

"Yes, please." A cup of coffee appears to materialize in front of Maria's hazy vision. " _You_ are a goddess."

"So, up for something tonight? Or did Roswell kick your ass last night?"

"It would take far more than a night of medium drinking to kick my ass."

"Cool." Liz grabs an order from the cook and delivers it to a scruffy guy in a faded army fatigue. "I get off around six, so... eight?"

"Eight sounds good."

"I promise to take it easy on you," Liz laughs again, leaving Maria to find salvation in a bottomless cup of coffee.

*~*

After a stop by Amy's shop, Maria pops into the local gas station to pick up a pack of cigarettes. She passes Isabel on her way out and says hello. Isabel puts her hand on the pack and squeezes it lightly.

"You know, you shouldn't smoke." Her tone is teasing, a faint smile dances at the corner of her lips.

Maria snorts and shrugs. "Yeah, well, I do a lot of things people shouldn't do. Besides, this has the added benefit of helping either avoid conversation - or make it."

"That it does." Isabel holds the door open for her and waits for her to pass through. "They're cheaper at the station on route five."

Maria doesn't have a chance to thank her before she disappears into the store.

*~*

Maria stumbles over a rock in the pitch black, quietly cursing herself for not taking Liz's invitation to crash at her place. Neither were in any shape to drive and she knew it was only a few blocks away. But in which direction - now that was the question.

It's got to be at least two a.m. now. And she'd really, really like to be home before sunrise.

She takes the next right, then the next left but none of the houses look familiar. Maria pauses to look over at the park to get her bearings - the town seemed so much smaller in the daytime. She purses her lips and calls out to the darkness. "Alright, you're annoying me. Either show yourself or quit following me."

Nothing happens. A couple of minutes pass before a rock comes skidding up to her foot. A young guy - shaggy blond hair and an obvious chip on his shoulder -appears. His hands are dug deep in his pockets, eyes narrowed at her without truly focusing on her.

"So what are you, my knight in shining armor?"

He looks directly at her and almost sneers. "No."

"Then are you my attacker in shining armor?"

"No."

"Uh huh." Maria scratches an insect bite on her elbow. "Then what are you doing out so late?"

The boy shrugs. "Out for a breath of fresh air."

"At two in the morning?"

"I left at eleven."

"That's one hell of a breath."

"Yeah. Whatever." He glances away, focuses on some imaginary being behind her. "You're DeLuca, right?"

Maria furrows her brow. "Yes. Maria. And you are?"

He shrugs again.

Maria wraps her arms around herself. She wishes she had her jacket. "Alright, this has been fun and stuff, but I need to get home." She walks away.

"You'll never get home that way."

She spins around in frustration. "Listen Mr. knight or attacker in shining armour, if you want to point me in the right direction I'll owe you one. If not, quit with the cryptic shit and leave me alone."

"Take a left on Marshall. Then the second right on..."

"Why don't you just walk with me, Michael?"

He stares at her, taken aback.

"What? You think you're the only one who knows things?

They walk in silence the rest of the way. He is not there when she turns around to say goodbye. She waves anyway.

*~*

Alex's band is actually pretty decent. He invited her to a band practice, not expecting her to accept - but she showed up on Thursday afternoon and every one since. They're certainly raw and a bit unshaped, but they've got talent and some of their songs are catchy enough that she finds herself singing them in the grocery store.

Maria doesn't tell him that she used to sing with a band back in New York. She doesn't mention the messy relationship she had with the fuck-up of a drummer. Or how she kinda freaked out when they played their first gig, and that she freaked out over freaking out. She never really brings up anything pre-Roswell.

She offers to help hang fliers for their show and even spends a couple of hours designing one. Alex declares it "kick-ass" and they get hopped up on pixie stix before driving around town, taping announcements in the window of any store that'll let them.

Maria makes sure to stick one in Isabel's locker.

*~*

Kyle, it turns out, is a pretty good fuck.

They meet a couple of times a week after school - usually at his place, but occasionally it's the DeLuca kitchen cabinets they rattle. Maria's breasts heave rapidly as Kyle kneels down to pull her panties off. She grabs him, pulls his face towards hers before he has a chance to say anything.

She doesn't think when she's with him - just acts. It's refreshing, really. Different. And he makes her laugh - really laugh. Last week, they were lying on his bed, a light sheen of sweat covering their bodies, when he rolled over and asked if she was impressed by his hat trick. She snorted, told him that he just might have earned himself some overtime. Yesterday, he drew a cool bath for her, rubber ducky and all.

No one knows about this, it's their own little secret. They talk more than have sex, actually. Stupid shit, normal shit with the occasional deep shit. They both shy away from personal shit. Maria likes that.

In fact, she likes Kyle. Likes him a lot.

*~*

Crossing the campus en route to lunch one day, Maria comes across a couple of girls finishing up cigarettes behind the science building. She rifles through her bag for one of her own, sits against the wall and lights it. It's a cloudy day, with a slight breeze to take the edge off the heat.

"Got another?"

A tall figure transforms into Isabel when Maria holds her hand up to shade her eyes.

"Sure." Maria offers the pack. Isabel takes one, sits next to Maria and accepts the lit match.

Their shoulders are touching, and ever so often one of their knees grazes the other's. Maria tilts her head back, slowly blows a long stream of smoke towards the roof.

"You really shouldn't smoke."

"Neither should you," Maria replies.

"Like Roswell?" Isabel asks.

"Not too sure yet." Maria shrugs. "Been looking for a reason to - got any suggestions?"

Before Isabel can answer, Max rounds the corner. He glances quickly at Maria, then glares at Isabel. His eyes are fixed, determined, but Maria can see he's more worried than angry. Nervous, even.

"Isabel!" he barks. "We've got - I need to talk to you."

Isabel stubs out her cigarette and sighs. "Coming, Max." She stands up and brushes herself off. "Crashdown shakes and smoke breaks, there's two." She smiles at Maria and then walks off after Max.

Maria takes a final drag as she watches her go. Max has far more control over his sister than Maria had expected.

*~*

On the way to shop class, Maria takes a turn too quickly and slams into someone coming in the opposite direction. Max. Perfect. His books fall among hers and he drops to his knees to sort them out.

"God, I'm such a klutz, I'm so sorry," Maria says, embarrassed.

"It's okay." He does not look at her, just stares down at the books.

"I'm Maria, by the way." She sticks out her hand in front of his face, forcing him to look up. "You're Isabel's brother, right?"

He shakes her hand quickly and lets go even quicker. "Max." His voice is soft, barely audible.

"Nice to meet you, Max!" She overcompensates for his lack of volume, which puts him visibly on edge. Maria picks up the stack of books he separated from his own and stands up. "Which way are you going?"

"Uhm... to the quad."

"Great! Me too!" Unzipping her bag as they walk, Maria shoves her books in and slings the bag over her shoulder. "Are you in my English class? You look really familiar. Mr. Fisher?"

Max continually tries to shy away from her, but she sticks right next to him. "Yeah, I think so. Listen, I gotta -"

"I was wondering, could I get the notes from you? I was out yesterday and I really don't know who to ask." Maria stops and puts her hand on his arm. "I'd really appreciate it."

Max looks at her hand, then over his shoulder into the quad. He nods his head quickly and gives her a black notebook. "Yeah, yeah. I just need it back by tomorrow morning." He almost bolts away, through the glass door adjoining the cafeteria.

Maria flips through the pages as she steps over to the door, watching Max stride towards Isabel and Michael. Her fingers slide over his words and she smiles.

*~*

Faced with a long, pointless summer and the utter desire not to be stuck in Amy's store, Maria takes Liz up on her offer of a job at the Crashdown Café. Or rather, one day Liz was whining about how exhausted she was and how another waitress had quit the same time Maria said she was broke, and all of a sudden a sparkly greenish-blue uniform showed up at her house. It wasn't that bad, really, and half the time she scored decent tips - enough to pay for gas and some more of those chile rellenos.

She's learned a lot more about the people of Roswell as a waitress. Customers don't pay much attention to her unless they're looking for their check or another drink, leaving her to watch people as she fills the ketchup bottles. Maria figures out that the pharmacist is sleeping with the woman who runs the alien stationery shop. She knows that Miss Perky Real Estate Agent orders a Blast-Off Burrito every third visit and sneaks vodka into her 7up whenever she's not with a client. There are four gay couples - all closeted - and Maria smiles when she catches them playing footsie beneath the table.

Maria watches Max watch Liz, too.

She teases Liz about it as often as she can get away with it, taunting and poking whenever she catches Liz staring back. Talk to him, Maria pushes, you know you like him. Liz never admits it outright, brushing off Maria's accusations. But she always hovers around his table when Max is there, gets him extra fries and blushes for a full five minutes after each time she takes his order.

Silly girl, Maria thinks. Life is too short.

*~*

Liz tells her about the Evans kids on the drive over to Alex's place. How they were adopted - apparently they were found in the desert when they were six or something - and they generally just hang out with Michael Guerin. When Maria mentions that she met him one night, Liz gets a look of concern on her face.

"Did he... try anything?"

"Like what? Magic?"

"No, you know what I mean. Did he - well, what was he doing out so late?"

"Probably headed home like I was."

"But he doesn't live in town. He lives out in the trailer park."

"Huh," Maria says, unconcerned. She does not tell Liz that he walked her home. That he's walked her home a few times since then. Or that he's never there when she turns around to say goodbye. "So, that's it? They're a bunch of loners? Isabel seemed like Miss Popularity."

"Isabel's a bit different," Liz replies. She pulls into Alex's driveway. "I've never seen Max and Michael talk to anyone else, aside from school projects. And yeah, Isabel has other friends but she still spends most of it with her brother and Michael."

Alex's band is practicing in the garage, the noise overtakes any conversation they attempt to have. They crawl onto the resident grimy couch and watch the boys play. In the middle of one song, Maria leans over and whispers to Liz that the bass player is pretty cute.

"Yeah," Liz replies. "He kind of looks like Max."

*~*

It's a long Saturday of inventory, and after the sixtieth box of alien party favours, Maria wonders why exactly she volunteered her services. At least she'd be getting paid over at the diner. But then Amy looks over and grins and she remembers - honey, vinegar and all that shit. God, what she does to make things go smoothly.

The bell above the door tinkles and from the floor, Maria can see a well-worn pair of cowboy boots shuffle in. Amy's voice jumps up a couple octaves and by the third giggle, it's become quite apparent that she's flirting. Badly. Maria finishes up the box she's working on and stands up to meet the mystery man. He's got a face that's as worn as his boots, but still attractive - rugged. More of that kind out here in the west than back east. There was one guy at a gas station in a podunk Kentucky town that filled up her tank for free and convinced her to stay for dinner. He bought her breakfast in the morning, too.

This guy, however, was probably a bit more reputable - being that he's sporting a Sheriff's uniform. Then Maria realizes that he must be Kyle's dad - and for a quick second she thinks that he might shuffle his cowboy boots into stranger's motel rooms too. Hell, from the way he's eyeing Amy, Maria wonders if Amy hasn't had The Sheriff over for some breakfast pie. Apple, perhaps. Maybe heated mince.

Amy introduces them - his name is Jim, Maria keeps thinking of him as The Sheriff - and The Sheriff offers his hand. He's got a firm handshake. He asks if she knows his son and Maria says she does, from school. He tells her they should all get together sometime, Amy chimes in that would be nice. Maria says sure, maybe they can catch a baseball game or something. The Sheriff suggests the next town over, the one with the farm team for some major league franchise. They've got this great big wall and they can sit in the outfield and hope to catch a homerun ball. Maria says that would be perfect.

*~*

School's about to start up again, and Maria's late nights with Michael will have to end. They've been meeting a couple of times a week - usually around midnight - and walk about Roswell. She usually finds him around the park. Never in the same place because he doesn't want to look like he's waiting for her. But he is. He always is. Maria knows that.

She also knows that he spends just about every day outside his trailer, and that he'd spend every night outside of it if he could. She knows that he's much, much smarter than people give him credit for and that he uses that fact to his advantage. She knows that Isabel is the only girl he trusts, and that he'd do anything that Max would ask.

Michael hasn't told her that - he barely says anything when they're together. He just starts walking once she nears him, falling into step. At first, he'd follow a few feet behind but now they're pretty much side by side. Last week, Maria almost tripped over a rock and he grabbed her hand to steady her. She squeezed his hand and he pulled away - but much slower than she thought he would. Apparently, some progress had been made.

Maria thinks about kissing him sometimes. Like when they're lying on the grass, staring at the stars. Or sitting on the bench, watching the distant cars on the highway speed by with their headlights streaming. Tonight, Michael looks at her a moment longer than necessary and she wonders what would happen if she leaned over to touch his cheek. Close her eyes, press her lips against his. Taste his breath.

She doesn't do any of that. She doesn't even keep his gaze. Because Maria can't jeopardize this, it's far too important and kissing Michael, well, that could make things a lot worse.

Maria can't afford to make mistakes.

*~*

Maria invites Amy out to dinner the night before classes start. She even offers to pay, and Amy is touched. So much so that she quickly blinks tears out of her eyes and turns away to finish washing the dishes. Maria is grateful that Amy didn't come over and hug her or anything like that. She wasn't looking for some big display of affection - anyway, she just thought it'd be a nice thing to do.

*~*

By the third week, Maria's schedule has fallen into a comfortable pace. She knows exactly when she'll run into Michael between Italian and Chemistry, and which tree Liz and Alex will be sitting under during lunch. Every three days, she meets Isabel for a smoke behind the science building, and on those days, Max comes into the diner alone and watches Maria almost as much as he watches Liz.

And then there's Kyle. Who has, by far, been the most enjoyable part of her move to Roswell - and not entirely because of all the sex. He takes her out to the desert and they blare Van Morrison on his car stereo. He spins her around and around and around, making her laugh so hard she can't breathe. Maria laughs so much easier around Kyle, smiles without worrying about how it might look. He's a sweet boy, Maria thinks as he kisses her cheek. She would love to take him on all her adventures, crawl into bed with him every night. It won't happen, but every so often, Maria lets herself dream.

*~*

The whole town is crammed with tourists in for the Crash Festival. Like holiday Catholics, everyone is on alien talk overdrive, debating the Roswell crash versus crop circles in England. And every horribly produced "alien autopsy" show is played non-stop on the local community channel. Not that people are home - everyone's on the streets from morning till night, which is good for business, but bad for Maria's sanity. It's gotten so bad that she's all but given up driving, instead walking to the Crashdown for her shift. Not that the diner is any better.

Liz shoots Maria a relieved look when she arrives and gives her a quick rundown on waiting orders before Maria can even change into her uniform. Maria straightens her headband, takes three deep breaths and heads out to serve the masses. This is going to be a rough day and not just because of the customers.

Three hours later, Maria stares at the clock, counting down the seconds until she can take her break. She made Liz promise she could sit down in the back for a full five minutes at 2:45. It's now 2:43. She'd love to slip away a couple of minutes early, as Liz has been taking her sweet time getting booth four's order. Booth four consisting of Michael, Isabel, and of course, Max.

Kyle and Alex bustle in with boxes, ready to pick up lunch for some of the guys working the festival. The Sheriff swung Kyle a job as a runner for one of the event producers, and Alex got recruited when the other runner's car broke down. Maria yells to Jose that the pickup is here and grabs a couple of sodas for the boys. They settle in at the counter as she boxes up the meals. Alex spins around and watches Isabel, while Kyle grins at Maria, winking lasciviously. She laughs and tosses an ice cube at him - she's going to miss him.

Two seconds past 2:45, Maria calls Liz over and asks her to finish up Kyle and Alex's order. Liz checks the clock, then reluctantly comes back to the counter. Maria glances over at booth four and whispers, teasingly, into Liz's ear as she heads into the backroom.

"Max Evans is staring at you again."

In the back Maria rolls her head from side to side, stretches her arms above her head. She takes a sip of water, the splashes a bit of it on her face to wake herself up.

That's when she hears the shot.

*~*

No one notices Maria when the backdoor opens, but they do when she says, "You should think twice before doing that."

Max jerks his head up and sees her standing a few feet away, holding a large black gun. A gun like none he's ever seen before. A gun pointing right at his head. Maria pulls out a small silver disk and looks at the clock. Good. It worked. Everything has stopped. Customers stand frozen in line, children stand silent with their mouths open. Kyle and Alex are stilled, mid-step, balancing boxes of take-out in their arms. Only the slight hum of the air-conditioning and soda machines break the silence. Even Liz, lying on the floor, is still - her face grimacing in pain.

Only Max, Michael and Isabel are able to move.

"Maria?" Isabel asks incredulously.

Maria holds Isabel's gaze a few seconds more than necessary before turning to her bother. Maria looks at her briefly, a glance that makes Isabel pale. Then she turns to Max. "You have a choice. If you save Liz, you expose yourself and Isabel and Michael. And if you do that, I will have to use this gun. If you leave her to her fate you'll be fine. Your secret will be safe. You've got two minutes to decide."

"I can't just let her die!" Max says.

"Then you've made your decision?"

"Wait - Maxwell." Michael turns to Maria. "You'll kill us if he saves her? Who the hell are you to make that decision?"

"You don't have clearance for the answer to that question."

" _What_ clearance?"

She ignores him.

 "Who the fuck are you? What do you want with us? Why are you -?" Michael yells.

Isabel places her hand on Michael's shoulder. She takes a step towards Maria. "I don't understand. What's going on?"

"I told you, you have a choice."

"I know that," Isabel says calmly. "But who are you? Why are you here?"

She doesn't talk about herself. Not ever. "This," she says, and waves her gun around the room, motioning at Max, and Liz, "has been predicted. I was sent to make sure things don't go wrong."

" _What?_ " Max says.

"You've been fairly cautious so far, but your actions have been noticed. But here, now, this is where you get sloppy. This is where you fuck up. This is where it gets bad. And _this_ ," Maria says, " _this_ , is what I can't let happen."

"So you're telling me to kill her."

"No, I'm telling you to let nature take its course. She might not die. But if you save her, you all will. Every single one of you."

Michael raises a hand and narrows his eyes at Maria.

"I wouldn't bother trying," she tells him. "Your powers will have no effect on me."

"Oh really? Let's see." A force of energy barrels from Michael's palm, speeding towards Maria. It hits her red velvet pants and then dissipates into a shimmery dust that drifts to the floor.

"I told you," she says. "One minute."

"You can't kill everyone here," Isabel says.

Maria looks at her. "I'm not going to kill everyone. This gun doesn't hurt humans," She faces Max again. "You think you're saving her, but you don't know what will happen." Her voice softens, but is still stern. "You don't know that what you're doing is right."

"Wouldn't killing us just end up exposing us?" Max argues. "And isn't that what you're afraid might happen?"

"Not might, will. And if I have to shoot you, there won't be any bodies. You'll just disappear."

"No one would believe that."

"In Roswell, New Mexico? _Everyone_ would believe that."

"You're trying to make me kill Liz!" Max says. "I thought she was your friend!"

"I like Liz." Maria says. "But it's one possible death compared to all of yours. Maybe more."

"You don't know that will happen!"

"I do."

Max looks down at Liz's crumpled body. "I can't let someone die like this. I can't let _Liz_ die."

"Maxwell," Michael warns.

"Max, please don't. Mom and Dad..." Isabel trails off. There are tears streaming down her cheeks but her voice never wavers. "Max, we'll never see them again."

"I'm sorry," Max says. "I'm sorry, but I can't let her die. I just... I can't let her die." He takes Isabel's hand and reaches for Michael. Michael pulls away from him but clenches Isabel against his chest when Max starts towards Liz's body.

"I'm sorry, too," Maria says. "I really am."

*~*

She walks out of the diner and wipes her hands on her velvet clad thighs. She shakes out her hair, now colored a deep chestnut brown. Her palms slide over her face and she takes a deep breath, looks at herself in the mirror. Isabel Evans was a beautiful girl. It'd be a pity to let that face go to waste.

She's got thirty seconds to make it to her car, maybe less if her itchy trigger finger hit the button early again. Maria buckles her seatbelt. Noise erupts from the diner and people on the street start walking again. Her pager goes off - her next assignment. They always know when it's time for something new.

Maria starts the car and drives off.


End file.
